Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lighting apparatus designed for power-receiving connectors for charging on-board batteries in vehicles.
Description of the Related Art
Vehicles, such as automobiles, are provided with lighting apparatuses disposed at various locations. For example, in an electric automobile or a hybrid automobile, a lighting apparatus is disposed in the neighborhood of a charging connector, which operates to charge the batteries, in order to illuminate an operator at his or her hands or feet. The charging connector comprises a power-feeding-side connector, and a power-receiving-side connector (i.e., a vehicle-side inlet).
Japanese Patent Gazette No. 5582130 discloses a lighting apparatus that is designed for the power-receiving-side connector. The lighting apparatus comprises a charging port, an accommodation dent, a connector (i.e., the power-receiving-side connector) for charging, and a light source for illumination. The charging port is arranged in the outer face of an automotive body. The accommodation dent is formed inside the charging port. The charging connector is arranged inside the accommodation dent. The illumination light source is buried at the upper circumferential wall in the accommodation dent. Moreover, the illumination light source emits a light, which is directed from the upper circumferential wall of the accommodation dent toward the lower side, to illuminate the charging connector (i.e., the power-receiving-side connector) or an operator at his or her feet.
The lighting apparatus for power-receiving-side connector according to Japanese Patent Gazette No. 5582130 comprises the illumination light source that is buried in the upper circumferential wall of the accommodation dent. Accordingly, it is difficult for an operator to visually recognize during charging operations a light emission face through which a light coming from the light source transmits. As a result, it is difficult to utilize the light emission face as an indicator that indicates the remaining magnitudes of charging during the charging operations. Consequently, in order to also use the light emission face as such an indicator, it is possible to think of, as an example, providing the accommodation dent with the lighting apparatus in the bottom face to expose the light emission face so as to make it possible for the operator to visually recognize the light emission face.
Moreover, when a location to be illuminated spreads over a wide range, such as when a power-receiving-side connector is provided for each of an AC power source and a DC power source, it is necessary to expand a light, which comes from the light emission face of the conventional lighting apparatus for power-receiving-side connector, to emit over the wide range. Hence, in order to irradiate the light emission face over a wide range with the light, it is possible to think of bending or curving the light emission face, for instance.
When a lighting apparatus comprising a light emission face that is bent or curved so as to irradiate it over a wide range with a light, and which is exposed to be visually recognizable for an operator, is arranged in the bottom face of the accommodation dent, namely, in a face on which the power-receiving-side connector is disposed, the operator has generally come to visually recognize the bent or curved light emission face from up above obliquely. Therefore, the bent or curved light emission face, which is observable from the operator's point of view, does not have any uniform configuration at all. Hence, the bent or curved light emission face, which is recognizable visually from the operator's point of view, has been associated with a problem in terms of the decorativeness.